HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 257 Draft 01 2006-2008 M<r os
COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII
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BILL NO. zs~
ORDINANCE NO.
ORDINANCE TO INITIATE A CHARTER AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE XI OF THE
HAWAII COUNTY CHARTER (2000), RELATING TO INITIATIVE AND
REFERENDUM.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Article XI, Hawaii County Charter (2000), is repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 2. The Hawaii County Charter (2000), is amended by adding a new article, to be
numbered Article XI, and to read as follows:
"ARTICLE XI
INITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM
Section 11-1. Powers of Initiative and Referendum.
(a) The power of voters to propose ordinances shall be the initiative power.
(b) The power of voters to approve or reject ordinances by election shall be the referendum
power.
Section 11-2. Definitions.
As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Ballot Question" means an interrogative statement that plainly phrases the chief purpose of
the initiative or referendum so that arr affirmative response corresponds to a "yes" vote.
"Ballot summary" means a concise, impartial explanation of the measure and its major effects.
"Ballot title" means a brief phrase idenrifying the subject of the initiative or referendum.
"Circulators" means adults who circulate copies of the petition among registered voters for
signature.
"Clerk" means the clerk of the Hawaii County Council.
"Committee" means the petitioners' committee formed pursuant to section 11-3.
"Petition form" means a petition without voter signatures and other voter identifying information.
"Petition or signed petition" means the petition form containing the voters' signatures and
other voter identifying information, the ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary.
Section 11-3. Petitioners' Committee.
For each initiative or referendum petition there shall be a petitioners' committee representing
all the petitioners, which committee shall be composed of five members who shall be qualified
voters of the county and signers of the petition. The committee shall be responsible for
circulation of the petition and for assembling and filing the petition in proper form. There shall
be a committee chair who will be responsible for sending and receiving all communications
between the clerk and the committee. The committee shall have the power to amend or withdraw
the petition as provided in this charter.
Section 11-4. Initiative and Referendum Process
(a) The clerk shall provide the committee with a sample petition form upon request.
(b) Prior to circulating an initiafive or referendum petition, the committee shall give notice to
the clerk of the following:
(1) The names and addresses of the committee members as they appear on the general
county register, the committee's designated representative, and the address to
which all notices shall be sent;
(2) For an initiative, a completed petition form identifying the ordinance to be
modified or introduced, along with the proposed language for the petition;
(3) For a referendum, a completed petition form identifying the ordinance or part of
an ordinance to be repealed; and
(4) A proposed ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary.
(c) For purposes of this article, notice shall be in writing and sent via United States mail,
return receipt requested or delivered in person, provided both the sender and receiver sign
and date a receipt. The date of receipt mill be the date the recipient's signature was
affixed or ten days after the postmarked date, whichever occurs first.
(d) Within ten working days of receipt of Lhe notice in 11-4(b), the clerk shall give notice to
the committee that the proposed petition form, ballot title, ballot question, and ballot
summary are acceptable or shall propose alternative language.
(e) If the proposed language is acceptable, the clerk shall give the committee notice of
acceptance and the language shall be final.
(f) If the clerk proposes alternative language, the clerk shall give the committee notice of the
proposed language; within ten working days of receipt of the alternative language, the
committee shall send a notice to the clerk of its objections and submit a revised petition
form, ballot title, ballot question and ballot summary to the clerk The clerk shall accept
the proposed revision as the final language.
(g) Within five working days of finalization of the petition form, ballot title, ballot question
and ballot summary, the clerk shall:
(1) Submit them to the council fox Informational purposes utilizing the council's rules
and procedures; and
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(2) Give notice to the committee of:
(A) The final petition form, ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary;
(B) The deadline date set by the State of Hawaii Elections Office for the
submission of the ballot title, ballot question, and ballot summary; and
(C) The number of signatures required for a certificate of sufficiency.
(h) Within thirty working days after the filing of an initiative or referendum petition, the
clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition. During this thirty
day period, the committee may con[inue to gather signatures.
(i) As soon as a certificate is completed, the clerk shall notify the committee of the contents
of the certificate. If a petition is certified sufficient, the clerk shall present the certificate
to the county council at the first council meeting where it can be legally agendized,
(j) If the clerk certifies a petition insufficient, the certificate shall show the particulars
wherein the petition is defective, If a majority of the committee elects to amend a petition
certified insufficient, the committee shall give notice to the clerk and, within twenty
working days after receipt of the clerk's certificate of insufficiency, file a supplemental
petition. The supplemental petition shall be governed by the same requirements as the
original petition.
(k) Within fifteen working days from the filing of a supplemental petition, the clerk shall
complete a second certificate as to the sufficiency of the supplemental petition.
Thereafter, the procedural requirements for the supplemental petition shall be the same as
that for the original petition.
(1) If a majority does not elect to amend a petition, the clerk shall present the certificate to
the county council at the first council meeting where it can be legally agendized. A
petition is approved for consideration through council action upon the clerk's certificate
of sufficiency.
(m) A majority of the committee may request the county council to review the clerk's
certificate, at or before the meeting at which the clerk presents the certificate to the
council. The council shall review the latest clerk's certificate, upon the committee's
request, and shall approve or reject the certificate or may substitute its own determination
of sufficiency of the petition by resolution. The review actions of the council shall be
final but shall not preclude the filing of a new pefition for the same purposes.
(nj The council shall proceed immediately to consider an initiative or referendum petition
which has been determined sufficient ~n accordance with the provisions of this article. If
an initiative petition is concerned, the ordinance it proposes shall at once be introduced
subject to the procedures required for ordinances under this charter; however, not more
than sixty days shall elapse between the time of first reading of the initiative proposal as a
bill and completion of consideration to adopt, amend, or reject the same. If a referendum
petition is concerned, the ordinance to which that petition is directed shall be
reconsidered by the council; and not later than thirty days after the date on which the
petition was determined sufficient, the council shall by resolution repeal or sustain the
ordinance.
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(o) If the council fails to adopt an initiative proposal or adopts a proposal with an amendment
unfavorable to a majority of the committee, or if the council fails to repeal an ordinance
reconsidered pursuant to a referendum petition within, it shall submit the originally
proposed initiative ordinance or refer the reconsidered ordinance concerned to the voters
of the county at the next general election. The ballot for such measures shall contain an
objective summary of the substance of the measure and shall have below the ballot title
designated spaces in which to mark the ballot FOR or AGAINST the measure.
(p) The clerk shall publish the ballot title, ballot question, ballot summary and arguments for
and against the measure in the Sunday paper of two Hawai `i Island daily papers with the
largest circulation, for the three Sundays preceding the election. The committee shall be
given the opportunity to write the argument in favor of the measure. If a group of five
qualified electors give notice to the clerk that they wish to write the arguments against the
measure, the clerk shall publish their arguments. Both sets of azguments shall be
published in the same papers, on the same page, on the same days, utilizing the same size
print. The names and addresses of the committee and the opposing group as they appear
on the general county register for the County of Hawaii shall appear in the publication.
Section 11-5. Initiative and Referendum Petitions: Forms and Sufficiency.
(a) Initiative and referendum petitions shall be governed by the rules regarding form and
sufficiency set forth in this section, as well as by such other rules as the county council
may impose by ordinance, consistent with the provisions and with the spirit and purpose
of the charter.
(b) For acceptance of petitions, the clerk shall require that:
(1) The petitions indicate, by name and address as they appear on the general county
register for the County of Hawaii, the five members of the committee for that
petition.
(2) The petitions indicate the designated representative for the committee and the
address to which all notices for the committee axe to be sent.
(3) The signatures to petitions be filed on papers of uniform size and style and
assembled as one instrument.
(4) Electors signing such petitions shall print their names, add their signatures,
residence addresses, and the dates of signing on said petition. The information
provided by the signer of the petition shall be deemed acceptable if the clerk
deems the signature, printed name and the residence to be reasonably similar to
the information on the general register of the County of Hawaii.
(5) The petition contain a prominent notice stating whether one or more petition
circulators are to be paid. Paid means monetary payment or payment of goods or
services. Pay for petition circulators shall not be based on the number of
signatures collected.
The petition contain the ballot title and the ballot question.
(7) Each page of the completed petition form shall be numbered consecutively.
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(c) For purposes of cerpfication, any petition shall be found insufficient which:
(1) Is signed by less than the required number of qualified voters of the county.
(2) Proposes, or requests appeal of, an ordinance not subject to the powers of
initiative or referendum.
(d) Signatures are invalid and petitions insufficient:
(1) If signers are not given an opportunity to read the full text of the proposed
ordinance under an initiative petition, or the designation and description of the
ordinance in question under a referendum petition, and if the full text of a
proposed ordinance or ordinance under question is not contained in or attached to
each signature paper or set of signature papers of an initiative or referendum
petition, respectively, throughout circulation.
(2) If written statements (executed by the circulators for each set of signature papers)
are not attached to the papers at the time of filing of a petition with the clerk.
Each written statement shall attest that: a particular individual personally
circulated an identifiable set of signed petitions; each signed petition bears a
stated number of signatures; each signature on a petition was affixed in the
petition circulator's presence; each signature is the genuine signature of the
person whose name it purports to be; and the full text of the proposed measure
was made available to petition signers.
(e) Individuals may withdraw their signatures by submitting a written request to the clerk
within fifteen days after the filing of an initiative or referendum petition.
Section 11-7. Withdrawal of Petition.
A petitioners' committee may withdraw a petition at any time, but not later than the
thirtieth day immediately preceding the day scheduled for a vote in the county on a measure
concerned. A petitioners' committee shall be requested to withdraw its petition and the
cotmittee must comply, if the aims of the petition are resolved by intermediate council action to
the satisfaction of the committee such that the initiative proposal is adopted as an ordinance, or
that the ordinance reconsidered by the referendum petition is repealed. A written request for
petition withdrawal must be signed by four of the five members of the petitioners' committee
and filed with the council clerk. The filing of a withdrawal immediately cancels the petition and
ceases all further action for the accommodation of the petition by the county.
Section 11-8. Results of Election.
(a) A "no" vote shall be a negative response. Anon-vote, where there is no response, shall
not be counted affirmatively or negatively.
(b) If a majority of the voters voting upon a proposed initiative ordinance shall vote in favor
of it, the ordinance involved shall thereupan be an ordinance of the county. A proposed
initiative ordinance which is not approved by a majority of the voters on it shall
thereupon be repealed.
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SECTION 3. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of
the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this
end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
SECTION 4. Upon adoption of this ordinance, this council, by appropriate resolution, shall
provide that this amendment be submitted to the electorate of Hawaii County for approval at the
2008 general election.
SECTION 5. The charter amendment proposed in this ordinance shall take effect upon its
approval by a majority of voters in the 2008 general election.
DU ED BY:
COUNCIL BER, C TY OF WAI`I
,Hawaii
Date of Introduction:
Date of 1st Reading:
Date of 2nd Reading:
Date of 3rd Reading:
Effective Date:
R,EFEIZENCE; Cpmm; 1056
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